Dread the Future
by Amaterasu Rising
Summary: For all you M/H people...I wrote this for you (and me). And the good thing here, thier romance is just icing on the cake! Hibiki finds himself putting his life on the line for TWO people he cares for. And is he going to help the harvest? Ch 2 UP!
1. When Can I See You Again?

Dread the Future Ch. 1--When Can I See You Again?  
  
[A/N: I do not own VanDread nor have I ever claimed to. Now, this is a prelude to the story, to set it up, cos yes, finally, Meia and Hibiki are blissfully in love. And it does play a part in the larger story...you'll just have to read it as I post it! Feel free to submit a review. Thanks!   
  
Now, onto the story!]  
  
Meia Gisborn rolled over in her tiny cot-like bed in the quarters she shared with Barnette Orangello. The floor of their quarters was quiet. Few lights were on, just the faint dark blue and purple lights left on to cast a dim and eerie low glow to light the way to a midnight snack, late night bathroom break or…  
  
Her mind was filled with thoughts not conducive to sleep. She eyed Barnette as she lay on her side. Her roomie slept as if dead. She wanted to get up that second, hurriedly throw on some clothes as to not waste one precious minute, but the red numbers on the clock between their beds warned against it.  
  
Ten till midnight. At midnight everyone in the Nirvana crew stopped working and hit the hay. A small handful of people were still awake. She new Parfet was up, tinkering with this and that in Engineering. Duero could also be up, and that meant his shadow and protégée Paiwei was as well. Sometimes medicine didn't sleep.  
  
Ten minutes before she could theoretically steal out of bed and up to the main landing decks of the Nirvana. She'd barely made it before, cutting the time so close, but her anticipation was building so quickly she had to bury her face in her pillow to cut off a frustrated scream.  
  
Five minutes till, she saw when she emerged from the feathery place. She rose, annoyed, and dressed stealthily anyway. Clad in an old, tattered gray T-shirt and black short shorts, she slid her soft-soled sneakers on to give her a cusiony walk to the deck. She fastened her watch around her slim wrist and slipped out the door, creeping cautiously, the long but inobtrusive way, to the decks.  
  
*  
  
Hibiki Tokai sat on the steel grated steps of the large apparatus that held his Vanguard. He, too, was dressed hastily and he checked his watch with great frequency. Seconds would pass, he could count them, every time he glanced down. He titled his head back to look at the clear glass over the deck. The night was glorious; full of stars and bigger, brighter planets that were nearby. The magnificent scenery had been there all along, but these nights were the only ones he could enjoy it.  
  
He got antsy as the hour of midnight passed, and the minutes ticked away. He dreaded she'd slipped into her old, mistrusting ways again, and she'd just stayed in her bed. Maybe she was crying because of her fears. Maybe she couldn't cry, and she just lay there staring at the ceiling. Maybe she didn't care because the fire for her was gone, and they'd just go back to what they used to be.  
  
He was shocked at how much he cared. Her tears were his, her restlessness was his, her frustrations were his. They'd grown close in the years they served the Nirvana. A secret well kept.  
  
He looked up at the stars again for something else to think about.  
  
*  
  
Meia sneaked along the walls, sticking to lesser-known, quitier hallways to reach her destination. The low light from the deeply colored lights radiated a dark glow over her vision. "Meia?"  
  
A whispery hiss stoped her in her tracks. She stood still, fearing who had found her. She was just one wing from the deck, she'd almost made it.  
  
*Uh-oh, busted* she thought.  
  
"What are you doing up," the female voice continued. It sounded like Jura Elden. She turned her head over her shoulder and yes, it was Jura, with a fluffed white towel wrapped around her head and an abbreviated one swathed about her curvaceous body. She crossed her arms over her towel-covered breasts and raised a manicured eyebrow.  
  
"I couldn't sleep." Lame.  
  
"Going to the landing decks for some warm milk and chamomile tea? The kitchen's that way."  
  
"Sometimes flying my Dread helps. It's very relaxing. I even dream about flying it." Anything, anything to keep going and save face. Jura kept her skeptical mask on over her beauty. She didn't speak again, for Meia kept going. "What about you?"  
  
"Midnight steam," she said. "The sauna's not crowded at night and I can get all the room I need. Speaking of relaxing, I'm there. Good night, Meia. Make sure not to fall asleep at the wheel." She laughed and left Meia in the hallway. As soon as her blonde shipmate was out of sight, she practically ran, as quietly as she could, to the deck. Her slim fingers flew impatiently over the access keypad and the door opened.  
  
Hibiki's gaze was cut from the night when he saw the bluish light pour in behind her. The door quickly closed. He stood and rushed down the steps. Meia took long strides to meet him. Arms outstretched, she collided softly with him and knocked him gently against the strutting of the metal apparatus he'd been sitting on. She sighed, with happiness, with satisfaction, with relief. He held her to his body, loving the way her curves fit against him. For minutes, they stood, holding each other. He rested his cheek on the crown of her head and basked in the sweet silence. "You're late," he said finally.  
  
She pulled away enough to look at him. "I know. I'm sorry. But I'm here now." She didn't want to spoil the moment by telling the Jura tale. It could spark an argument.  
  
He didn't care, for he was again by her side. He looked at her, his dark eyes softening and a small smile on his lips. She smiled back at him. He put his hands behind her head and drew her close for a kiss. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands against his chest. She broke their kiss and dangled the keys to her Dread from her fingers. "The night was made for cruisin'," she said lightly.  
  
He chuckled. She left to fire up her Dread as he scrambled to his Vanguard. They took off from the deck and performed a usual feat of battle, the act of a Vanguard and a Dread uniting to make a more powerful vessel. Together again in one cockpit, Hibiki caught Meia looking back at him in the reflection of the perfectly polished glass winshield. She piloted their massive vehicle beyond the radar of the Nirvana. Now, they were truly alone.   
  
She slowed the engines and essentially put the VanDread Meia in "park." The winshield of the vessel provided a smaller but still breathtaking view of the beautiful night. Seatbelts unfastened, radios off, weapons disabled, it was the only love nest they had. Meia setlled back against Hibiki, resting her head in the hollow of his chest. His arms circled her and she held onto his hands with her own. They watched stars, enjoying their infrequent and brief yet romantic time together.   
  
Hibiki loved the way she smelled. He loved her hair. He loved her lagoon-blue eyes, how they always betrayed her emotions. He'd seen deeper into her eyes, as she'd let him little by little. He was so deep into her, he was almost afraid to think of it.   
  
The stars blinked down at them, and her warm body, soft hair and sweet girl smell prodded him to put what he felt out there. "Meia—"  
  
She wriggled from his arms and flipped herself over. Now she rested back on her knees, her arms propped up on either side of him. She advanced over him, looming her slender body over his. Her pool-hued eyes grew dark with deepening desire. "Don't ruin this with words," she whispered. She attacked him gently, and they kissed with fervor.   
  
*  
  
She left the deck first after they landed, not able to control her wide smile. She practically danced back to her tiny room and fell into bed and dreams. 


	2. I Want It Now

Dreads flew about madly, firing on the impossibly large ship that descended upon the Nirvana. Meia led the attack. Jura and Barnette were hot on her heels, as Hibiki was recklessly attacking and Dita was screeching as she piloted her Dread.  
  
Meia's radio was geared to hear everything that transpired in each cockpit of her fleet, and allowed her to communicate between her and the other pilots. She and Barnette and Jura exchanged patterns for attack, strategy and impromptu tricks. Dita wailed as debris from battle pelted her Dread. Meia was used to the high-pitched complaining, but this was a difficult battle and her patience was running thin. A blast hit the side of her Dread, knocking it aside. She grasped the pilot stick and corrected herself. Dita's whining kept on. "Damn it, Dita," she began.  
  
A whoosh of air and noise passed over her in the blink of an eye and her heart jumped to her throat. It felt like a missile had grazed her Dread. One inch lower and the front end could have been destroyed. A yellow-orange flash zipped overhead. "Sorry," Hibiki's voice came over the communicator. "Watch out, you…" She tried to call him something, but she settled for a low spoken, "Be careful."  
  
His Vanguard blazed ahead right for the huge ship. The elderly captain of the ship stood among the frantic bridge crew, calm as anyone could be. His hands were clasped behind his back and he watched the battle almost detached from what was happening. He had a low-key demeanor as he spoke his orders. "Don't let them get too close…more arms…why is that idiot flying around like that…Darling, are you paying attention?" He turned to the lovely young lady seated behind him. Their pale blue eyes met.   
  
"Of course, Father," she said, measured and frostily. "There has not been a day that I have not sought to emulate you."  
  
"Very good." He smiled and focused back on the battle. The young woman scowled at his back. She jumped up and joined him at his side. "Father, why can't I be on the ships after my coronation? I know everything you do. I learned from the best." Her cold beauty could charm anyone, but her father stood unaffected. He chucked her under her chin and said, "Love, as long as I live, I will not put my only daughter and the future of Empire Earth as commander on a battleship where she can get killed. Your duty as future Queen of the Empire is to produce an heir, remember that. Once you have, then you can play all the war games you wish."  
  
She filled her chest with air and said in a defeated tone, "Very well." She left then, her strides growing faster and longer as her anger built. She entered the royal quarters and glared at Pekoe, her handmaid, although Stella preferred calling Pekoe her "assistant." Pekoe was seated in her room, reading a thick book. "His Majesty refused to let you command the warships again," she asked absently.  
  
"How'd you guess?" Stella flopped on Pekoe's bed and the glare did not leave her face.   
  
"He's old, he'll die in a few years," Pekoe went on, trying to offer something to her future queen.  
  
"I don't want total command in a few years! I want to head up everything in this empire, and I want to do it as soon as I get the crown! My coronation's in six weeks, Pekoe. We need to do something between then and now."  
  
"I don't see any options, outside of killing him," she said flippantly.  
  
Stella rose and loomed over Pekoe in her chair. Stella was a tall young woman, and the way her silver blonde hair spilled over her face and shoulders made her pale eyes darken. She looked like a monolith of wrath. "Are you implying that I kill my own father," she raged.  
  
Pekoe stood. She and Stella had been raised together, as she was the daughter of the Prime Minister of America. Only a life-long friend could stand up to the cold, formable Stella Kolhardt. That, and she was nearly as tall as her friend. She stood, held her head of fine, thick chocolate brown hair high. She went to speak.   
  
"That is the best idea I've ever had," Stella said, cutting her off.   
  
Pekoe's amber eyes widened. Was she serious about offing her father? "But, Stel, I—"  
  
"Yes, yes, you'll get your perks once I assume the throne," Stella said with a wave of her hand. She paced the room. "Pekoe, I must say, once again you've proven your worth." She smiled with as much sincerity as she'd shown anyone. "I'll be up tonight and we can put my idea down on paper." She turned and went to leave. "Thank you again, Pekoe." A small, conspiratorial smile formed on her lips. Pekoe was left standing in her quarters, aghast. Stella always got what she wanted, and she wanted to kill the Emperor of Earth, her father. She knew it would be done. What she did not know, she did not know how to deal with that idea. 


End file.
